*Official* New Zealand tour of India 2024

[Spark]

I wont blame our bowling too much except for the fact that they seemed to deviate from bowling good balls consistently to trying to produce the magic balls every over. Given the scores we put up batting, its understandable but given their experience and expertise, its not excusable. I wish GG and Rohit sit down and have a honest conversation on how they want this side to move forward. Under Rohit, every time we have been in close positions, its obvious the team seems to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. We got a bit lucky in the T20 WC finals but its obvious we need someone who can ease that pressure to them somewhat and also be stern when needed. Feel this is where Shaz and Virat were at their best and what we miss most right now. I wont still write off Gambhir based on one series when he is so new to this role, but its obvious Rohit's captaincy was always vastly vastly overrated in our circles, even in this forum. Hopefully, he cools down and has a rethink on how he handles situations and comes up with some gameplans that actually make sense than just give away easy singles to your best bowlers on tracks where they are getting assistance.

Cricinfo put up a stat saying that roughly a quarter of balls Ashwin and Jadeja bowled conceded a single or two this series - this obviously being way way higher than what we'd come to expect from them (this is what I was referring to more generally when I said the bowling had underperformed). A large part of that is the crap fields Rohit set at times and also scoreboard pressure but they're highly experienced cricketers who have actually had to defend small totals regularly in the past few years, so the most important factor in that respect is still just plain old accuracy: they were just mildly off, not in terms of bowling lots of long hops, but just not quite as precise and consistent as we'd come to expect, which allowed NZ to milk singles around the ground (which is obviously very difficult to set a field to as captain) and made NZ's life so much easier than I was expecting.

 

[Spark]

Will be funny if NZ lose to England after this at home and we beat Aus. Not probable but will be funny if it does. Dunno y, just feels like it might happen, for some reason. Maybe I am just seeing them as underdogs after the Ian Chappell article in crapinfo just now.

I memed about it but it's actually absurd the degree to which Chappell prefabricates all his opinions about cricket before he's watched a ball. Ranting on and on about how horrible the sweep shot is and how England were so dumb to rely on it... whilst ignoring how many of their batsmen got out to hard-handed drives with big forward strides, and then saying nothing at all about Ghulam or Saud Shakeel who made hundreds on those same pitches... sweeping. Or even Duckett, England's best player of spin on the tour, who swept extensively.

 

[Arachnodouche]

You bet they didn't.

That is the issue with India. They are bloody arrogant. They don't consider a boring batsman should be a part of their line up.

For us, it used to be Tillekaratne, Samaraweera and now Mathews. We at least consider such a batsman is needed.

Arre boss, we would too if we had one on the shelf. Sadly, there are no boring batsmen in India. Just so happens there are no good ones either.

 

[nightprowler10]

Congratulations Kiwis. That's an amazing achievement. First the WTC over India and now this, they like playing against India.

I went to sleep pretty confident pant was going to take them home. It's one of those gut feel things that are usually right.

Reckon 3-0 is better than 2-1 for Indian fans if you want big changes being made. It's not consolation right now but may end up being for the best.

 

[honestbharani]

Cricinfo put up a stat saying that roughly a quarter of balls Ashwin and Jadeja bowled conceded a single or two this series - this obviously being way way higher than what we'd come to expect from them (this is what I was referring to more generally when I said the bowling had underperformed). A large part of that is the crap fields Rohit set at times and also scoreboard pressure but they're highly experienced cricketers who have actually had to defend small totals regularly in the past few years, so the most important factor in that respect is still just plain old accuracy: they were just mildly off, not in terms of bowling lots of long hops, but just not quite as precise and consistent as we'd come to expect, which allowed NZ to milk singles around the ground (which is obviously very difficult to set a field to as captain) and made NZ's life so much easier than I was expecting.

Nah, I think the fields definitely were the biggest reason. The small loss in accuracy is probably them trying the magic balls, yes but the overall singles off even their stock balls is definitely just legitimately awful captaincy.

 

[Daemon]

Can’t stop thinking about the night watchman decision.

Dumbest ****ing thing I’ve ever seen. Mohd Siraj of all people on a minefield lmao.

Actually no, it’s the second dumbest. The first is him taking a review as though he was going to successfully negotiate the hand grenades till stumps and then come out the next day to make a gritty 50.

Maybe he was sent as night watchman because of his newfound police credentials. **** me what idiocy.

 

[Shri]

when pitches turn so much dhoni and kohli would have everyone close in and ask the batters to risk big shots

rohit neither attacks nor defends as captain

we got away with it vs aus and eng because they are ****ing dumb

 

[OverratedSanity]

Can’t stop thinking about the night watchman decision.

Dumbest ****ing thing I’ve ever seen. Mohd Siraj of all people on a minefield lmao.

Actually no, it’s the second dumbest. The first is him taking a review as though he was going to successfully negotiate the hand grenades till stumps and then come out the next day to make a gritty 50.

Maybe he was sent as night watchman because of his newfound police credentials. **** me what idiocy.

The last 15 minutes of that day is the biggest collective brainfart by a team I've ever seen. Just non stop idiocy with Siraj being the peak.

 

[Shri]

Jaiswal
Easwaran
Sai
Gill
Pant
Jurel +
Sundar
Axar
Kuldeep
Akash
Bumrah

post rohit/kohli/ash/jaddu at home

 

[Arachnodouche]

Can’t stop thinking about the night watchman decision.

Dumbest ****ing thing I’ve ever seen. Mohd Siraj of all people on a minefield lmao.

Actually no, it’s the second dumbest. The first is him taking a review as though he was going to successfully negotiate the hand grenades till stumps and then come out the next day to make a gritty 50.

Maybe he was sent as night watchman because of his newfound police credentials. **** me what idiocy.

Siraj legitimately has to be the daftest person we've ever fielded on a cricket ground at Test level. I'd feel bad about saying it if it were anyone else but he has a tendency to act like a right **** too so **** him.

 

[nightprowler10]

Siraj legitimately has to be the daftest person we've ever fielded on a cricket ground at Test level. I'd feel bad about saying it if it were anyone else but he has a tendency to act like a right **** too so **** him.

Idiocy and arrogance do go hand in hand.

 

[danzydab]

I crave 1 more test on another raging turner.
This time with NZ attack consisting of Santner, Ajaz, Bracewell, Phillips, Henry.
NZ have been so absorbing to watch in India.

 

[Daemon]

Siraj legitimately has to be the daftest person we've ever fielded on a cricket ground at Test level. I'd feel bad about saying it if it were anyone else but he has a tendency to act like a right **** too so **** him.

Idiocy and arrogance do go hand in hand.

I don’t think he’s a bad egg at all, just a bit dim. Gives the odd stare and says some probably unintelligible words to the batsman from time to time but seems harmless.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Congrats New Zealand. From the very first day of the first test you showed that you had a hunger for test cricket ascendancy. Doing something that is unprecedented, it is stuff of legends. We will all remember this.

I noticed that in the modern game, every time there is a test which brings out the real fight out of the players, there is a unified feeling of joy and euphoria from cricket fans and pundits, everywhere. This, my friends, is what test cricket is...it brings out the best out of players and us, the enthusiasts.

Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom- Keirkegaard

I am gonna borrow a line from one of my posts in the ENG-WI thread yesterday, along the same lines as hunger,

Cricket is a funny game and relies heavily on the balance of power and who feel like they have an edge.

+++

Once again, congrats New Zealand.
Commiserations, team India.

 

[SteveNZ]

Congrats New Zealand. From the very first day of the first test you showed that you had a hunger for test cricket ascendancy. Doing something that is unprecedented, it is stuff of legends. We will all remember this.

I noticed that in the modern game, every time there is a test which brings out the real fight out of the players, there is a unified feeling of joy and euphoria from cricket fans and pundits, everywhere. This, my friends, is what test cricket is...it brings out the best out of players and us, the enthusiasts.

This is awesome. And I agree, as **** as we've always been, we've maintained a hunger for Test cricket.

And this was Test cricket, showcasing why it ALWAYS has to be the thing. This was as absorbing as a contest can ever be in our sport. You could point to 55 different turning points, heroes/villains, ebbs and flows, you can argue it (and we do ) about who won, lost etc. Contrast that to T20, which is 'which team wackedy doo-ed it better'. I won't ever listen to the Test cricket is dead crowd anymore, because the history and depth of this game will ensure it lives on. The general NZ public - who to be fair, are pretty clued up on Tests - know we had won 2 Tests in India in our history, won 3 in a month, and are the first team to ever whitewash India in India. First to win in 12 series. That means something. T20 will never replicate that.

Even being on here, it's just fun. People are debating fields, batting approaches, DRS decisions, captaincy, selection. bowling changes, there's so much going on. Massively enjoyable month.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

This is awesome. And I agree, as **** as we've always been, we've maintained a hunger for Test cricket.

And this was Test cricket, showcasing why it ALWAYS has to be the thing. This was as absorbing as a contest can ever be in our sport. You could point to 55 different turning points, heroes/villains, ebbs and flows, you can argue it (and we do ) about who won, lost etc. Contrast that to T20, which is 'which team wackedy doo-ed it better'. I won't ever listen to the Test cricket is dead crowd anymore, because the history and depth of this game will ensure it lives on. The general NZ public - who to be fair, are pretty clued up on Tests - know we had won 2 Tests in India in our history, won 3 in a month, and are the first team to ever whitewash India in India. First to win in 12 series. That means something. T20 will never replicate that.

Even being on here, it's just fun. People are debating fields, batting approaches, DRS decisions, captaincy, selection. bowling changes, there's so much going on. Massively enjoyable month.

Awesome. You couldn't have said this any better. This series had the feeling of a 5-test series. Battles within battles. Taking on the juggernaut with your own little arsenal.

If only the kids made some time to watch and appreciate the game instead watching the six counter on the screen. IT'S HUGEEEE!

 

[SteveNZ]

In terms of our performance, I think we struck that perfect balance with most guys contributing at the right time across the board. We were far from perfect - our fielding (1st Test, 1st innings apart) was pretty average at times, and the batting averages were lower than you'd expect in winning a series in India. I don't think we had particularly great plans for batsmen, or did anything revolutionary...we just outcompeted India. By miles.

Everyone made a score, even down to Blundell's 41 that gave us breathing room in the 2nd Test. And bowling-wise, the same.

The thing for me is how meekly India went down. OK, they're not the side we're used to them being. But the 4th inning here summed up to me how much they didn't really care about getting beaten at home. They should've pissed in 146, if they truly cared. Their captain summarised that for me. The callous, completely irresponsible walk at Southee on the 1st morning, when it was clearly decking around and they needed to survive, to the lazy, 'we'll try and slog these runs' waft to get out in the 4th innings here. His captaincy was mud all series.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I crave 1 more test on another raging turner.
This time with NZ attack consisting of Santner, Ajaz, Bracewell, Phillips, Henry.
NZ have been so absorbing to watch in India.

If we had that attack with the 3 spin bowling allrounders (so more batting depth) I'd also fly Max Chu over. I don't know what his judgement of reviews is like, but the keeping would definitely improve.

 

[SteveNZ]

Awesome. You couldn't have said this any better. This series had the feeling of a 5-test series. Battles within battles. Taking on the juggernaut with your own little arsenal.

If only the kids made some time to watch and appreciate the game instead watching the six counter on the screen. IT'S HUGEEEE!

We've got to keep trying with them my man! My daughter watches with me, although yeah it is a bit slow for her. But she loves it when Dad goes irrationally crazy over a wicket.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

I will never forget the innings where they were feeding Sarfaraz balls outside the off stump, and he was nonchalantly steering them where he wanted to. That was a bizarre period of play.